HopeFest raises money, voices for Africa

I swear I’m not being disingenuous when I say I’ve never quite enjoyed an outdoor festival as much as I did HopeFest last weekend.

The annual event was held Sunday afternoon at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary.

HopeFest, in its third year, raises money for Beacon of Hope, a group based out of Nairobi, Kenya, that helps women and girls affected by AIDS learn skills that allow them to make money and support themselves and their families.

Last year’s HopeFest raised $25,000, enough for Beacon of Hope to build a new health clinic. I’m not sure how much this year’s festival raised, but one of the organizers told me that before gates even opened for the day, they had about $12,000 to send over to Beacon.

But of course, HopeFest isn’t just about the cause. Okay, well it is, but there’s some great music, too.

Mavuno, a group from Kenya, performed a lively set early in the evening that had most of the crowd on their feet and dancing. Local native turned Nashvillian Thad Cockrell followed, playing songs off his brand new EP, To Be Loved.

This year’s concert was headlined by Glen Phillips, someone everyone’s heard of though his past work with Toad the Wet Sprocket. Phillips played some of his bigger songs from that band (“All I Want,” “Walk on the Ocean”) but he also played some of his more recent material, including two songs (“Windmills,” “Come a Time”) off an album he recorded as the Mutual Admiration Society with Nickel Creek and two freshly-penned songs Phillips said will appear on a forthcoming album.

The crowd was small but mighty, and Phillips treated the faithful by coming out for a special encore. Standing on the steps of the stage Phillips played handful of songs as the crowd stood close and sang along. Undoubtedly the perfect ending to a perfect day.